Hardy Decisions Injured de Castro

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

Former NFL defensive lineman, Greg Hardy, was tonight (Sat., May 9, 2020) out to prove that he can compete at the highest professional mixed martial arts (MMA) level, opening up UFC 249’s ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) main card opposite undefeated prospect, Yorgan de Castro, inside Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. And he did just that, blanking the Cape Verde-born fighter on the judges scorecards en route to an important unanimous decision win.

Round One:

Both fighters came and shook hands, with de Castro landing with a huge right hand early. Hardy responded with a wild high kick, while de Castro whiffed on another looping overhand right. de Castro barely missed with a left hook, as Hardy tried to get on the board with a straight jab. de Castro keeping Hardy at bay with a string of low kicks, then pressured with a flurry, but nothing connected. Hardy landed a hard low kick, then blocked a hard left cross that probably would have turned his lights off. de Castro stung him with a right hand, then another low kick, which Hardy has yet to check. Hardy back de Castro into a corner and both started to exchange hard shots, with Hardy getting the better of the powerful exchanges. de Castro continued to circle away from danger until the opening frame came to a close.

Round Two:

de Castro got the action going with another punishing low kick to Hardy’s lead leg. Hardy responded in kind, but de Castro was doing sustained damage to slow his opponent. Hardy continued to press the action, while de Castro waited for opportunities to counter and explode. de Castro whipped another low kick, and this time, Hardy checked it, which appeared to bother de Castro. Two minutes in and Hardy continued to stalk de Castro, his right hand cocked and ready to fire. de Castro’s output waned considerably in the second half of the round, while Hardy continued to bring the fight to him … without notable success. And that’s how the second stanza ended — basically a Hardy sparring match.

Round Three:

Between rounds, it appeared that de Castro’s corner was pleading with him to get going. And he did, unleashing a series of hard low kicks in the opening minute. de Castro definitely picked up the pace, perhaps knowing that whoever won the final round, would likely win the match. At the midway point of the round it was rather uneventful, then de Castro missed with a high kick and landed on his back. Hardy punched and kicked his legs, which de Castro’s corner was screaming for their fighter to get back to his feet. Finally Hardy had enough and told the referee that he wanted de Castro to get back on his feet. But, once he got there — much like the previous round — de Castro was stuck in cruise control and didn’t do anything. He pointed to his foot as him and Hardy embraced after the bell, indicating that perhaps he was injured on the aforementioned checked low kick.

It was an odd performance from de Castro, who looked solid for the first five minutes and then just disappeared down the stretch. Hardy credited ringside announcer Daniel Cormier — as well as the crowd-free venue — for the reason he checked the kick. He heard “D.C.” talking about it and … “game changer.”

Final Result: Hardy defeats de Castro via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

MMAmania.com is delivering LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 249 fight card RIGHT HERE, right now.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 249: “Ferguson vs. Gaethje” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.